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"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Sounds like the founders were in favor of gun regulation. Someone might want to inform the gun lobby that the right to bear arms doesn't include any idiot who thinks he needs to be his own government and army.

Everyone who's shot up a school, shopping mall, theatre, restaurant, post office or court room with guns he bought and carried around legally because we DON'T properly regulate the sales, ownership, and right to carry guns. It's a long list, and growing longer every year. As is the list of the dead children and adults these idiots leave in their wake.

Everyone who's shot up a school, shopping mall, theatre, restaurant, post office or court room with guns he bought and carried around legally because we DON'T properly regulate the sales, ownership, and right to carry guns. It's a long list, and growing longer every year. As is the list of the dead children and adults these idiots leave in their wake.

Get a grip Nancy.

Destroy another fetus now, we don't like children anyhow, I've seen the future baby......... It is Murder.
~Leonard Cohen

“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
~Dalai Lama XIV

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

We can interpret this in two ways:

1. Because the U.S. did not have an organized military established to defend it, a standby militia made up of armed free citizens was necessary. And therefor, so was the citizen's need/right to keep and bear arms.

2. Because free citizens need to maintain the right and the ability to control and even possibly overthrow their own governments to maintain their freedom, their right to keep and bear arms must not be infringed, particularly by their government.

The use of the phrase "a well regulated militia" would certainly imply the former interpretation, rather then the latter. However, we know that the founders did believe in the right of the people to control, and to even overthrow their governments, when necessary, to preserve their own freedom. At the time, this would have been an automatic possibility when the only military force the government had access to was a militia made up of free citizens. Now days, however, the government maintains it's own standing military, which we HOPE would act on behalf of the people in a clash with their own government, but that is not intended nor set up to do so.

So that now days, that second interpretation, even though probably nor originally intended, has a lot more import than it would have at the time it was written.

All this aside, however, it is in no one best interest to arm criminals, fools, idiots, drunks, dope fiends, rage-mongers, and the otherwise blind and/or insane. So clearly, regardless of how we interpret the Constitution, some intelligent regulation is both wise and necessary.

"All this aside, however, it is in no ones best interest to arm criminals, fools, idiots, drunks, dope fiends, rage-mongers, and the otherwise blind and/or insane. So clearly, regardless of how we interpret the Constitution, some intelligent regulation is both wise and necessary."

Sounds like the founders were in favor of gun regulation. Someone might want to inform the gun lobby that the right to bear arms doesn't include any idiot who thinks he needs to be his own government and army.

Actually, some founding fathers wanted to force every household to have a gun. Militia back than was just called up voluntary citizenry that were supposed to supply their own guns and ammo.

The reason for this was to give the citizenry the ability to rise up and overthrow the government should it get overbearing with a local militia.

If you remove guns from anyone, the list of restrictions will grow over time to the point where no one will own guns and the purpose of the second amendment is defeated... its a slippery slope.

Instead we should educate people on how to be a militia as the founders intended.

Given the current state of young people in this country, I think 1-2 years of required military/civil service that involved fire arm training should be mandatory.